¹ Ultimately Austria received aid of US. $137 per capita, compared with $19 per capita in the western zones, which became the Federal Republic of Germany; see Ernst, Hanisch, Der Lange Schatten des Staates. Österreichische Gesellschaftsgeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert (Vienna, 1994), 413.Google Scholar For important articles on the Marshall Plan in Austria, see Günter, Bischof, “Der Marshallplan und Osterreich,” Zeitgeschichte 17, no. 11/12 (1990): 463–474;Google ScholarWilfried, Mähr, “Der Marshall-Plan in Österreich: Wirtschaftspolitischer Nachhilfeunterricht?” Zeitgeschichte 15, no. 3 (1987): 91–111;Google Scholar and Michael, Wala, “Die innenpolitische Durchsetzung des Marshall-Planes: Eliten und öffentliche Meinung,” Zeitgeschichte 15, no. 3 (1987): 112–32.Google ScholarAlso see Wilfried, Mähr, “Der Marshallplan in Österreich: Tanz nach einer ausländischen Pfeife?” and Oliver, Rathkolb, “Von der Besatzung zur Neutralität.Google Scholar Österreich in den außenpolitischen Strategien des Nationalen Sicherheitsrates unter Truman und Eisenhower,” both in Die bevormundete Nation. Österreich und die Alliierten, 1945–1949, ed. Günter, Bischof and Josef, Leidenfrost, Innsbrucker Forschungen zur Zeitgeschichte, vol. 4 (Innsbruck, 1988), 245–272, 371–405.Google Scholar

² I use the phrases “Austria-as-victim myth” and “myth of Austrian victimization” to refer to the idea that Austria was a victim and only a victim of both German aggression and unfair treatment by the Allies.Google Scholar

³ During the occupation, the themes of economic recovery and rebuilding (Wiederaufbau) of Austria were not emphasized in Austrian schoolbooks as a source of national pride and identity, though great emphasis was certainly put upon the importance of rebuilding Austria. After the occupation and after the Austrian economy had been rebuilt, the successful Wiederaufbau became an important symbol of Austrian national identity that was heavily emphasized in post-1955 Austrian school materials.Google Scholar

⁴ Quoted from Keyserlingk, Robert H, Austria in World War II: An Anglo-American Dilemma (Kingston, Ont., 1988), 152.Google Scholar Keyserlingk's work is the definitive acount of the genesis and importance of the Moscow Declaration. Also see Günter, Bischof, “Die Instrumentalisierung der Moskauer Erklärung nach dem 2. Weltkrieg,” Zeitgeschichte 20, no. 11/12 (1993): 345–66. Throughout the postwar period, Austrian politicians and textbook authors pointed to the first part of the Moscow Declaration while neglecting the latter section warning about Austria's participation in the war.Google Scholar

⁵ For a discussion of Austrian identity during the First Republic, see Hans, Haas, “Staats- und Landesbewußtsein in der Ersten Republik,” in Handbuch des politischen Systems Österreichs Erste Republik, 1918–1933, ed. Emmerich, Talos et al. (Vienna, 1995), 472–8.Google Scholar

⁶ See Carla, Esden-Tempska, “Civic Education in Authoritarian Austria, 1934-38,” History of Education Quarterly 30 (1990): 187–211;Google Scholar and Herbet, Dachs, “ ‘Austrofaschismus’ und Schule—Ein Instrumentalisierungsversuch,” in “Austrofaschismus”: Beiträge über Politik, Ökonomie und Kultur, 1934–1938, ed. Emmerich, Talos and Wolfgang, Neugebauer, 2nd ed., Österreichische Texte zur Gesellschaftskritik, vol. 18 (Vienna, 1984), 179–97.Google Scholar

⁷ Mein Vaterland, mein Österreich (Vienna, 1935), 5.Google Scholar

⁸ See Stanley, Suval, “The Search for a Fatherland,” Austrian History Yearbook 4–5 (1968–1969): 275–99.Google Scholar

⁹ Verordnungsblatt für innere und kulturetle Angelegenheiten, June 1940, issue 11, 61.Google Scholar

¹⁰ Ibid., June 1938, issue 5, no. 21, 17–19.

¹¹ Staats-Realgymnasium in Laa a. d. Thaya (1911/1912–1937/1938), XI. Jahresbericht über die Schuljahre 1936/1937 und 1937/1938 (Laa a. d. Thaya, 1938), 9. The events of the Anschluss were also recounted in Unser Heim. Blätter der Staatserziehungsanstalt Traiskirchen, 13. Jahr, 6. Folge (Traiskirchen, 1938), 51–58, and many other yearbooks.Google Scholar

¹² See Jahres-Bericht des Oberlyzeums und Realgymnasiums für Mädchen der Gesellschaft für erweiterte Frauenbildung in Baden bei Wien (Baden, 1938), 1;Google Scholar and Jahresbericht der Handelsakademie und der kaufmännische Wirtschaftschule in Klagenfurt, 1937–1938 (Klagenfurt, 1938), 15–16.Google Scholar

¹³ For more on Austrian schools under the Nazi regime, see Helmut, Engelbrecht, Geschichte des österreichischen Bildungswesens. Erziehung und Unterricht auf dem Boden Österreichs, vol. 5.: Von 1918 bis zur Gegenwart (Vienna, 1988), 304–50;Google Scholar and Herbert, Dachs, “Schule und Jugenderziehung in der ‘Ostmark,’” in NS-Herrschaft in Österreich, 1938–1945, ed. Emmerich, Tálos, Ernst, Hanisch, and Wolfgang, Neugebauer (Vienna, 1988), 217–42.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Freiheit für Österreich. Dokumente (Vienna, 1955), 11–14.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Quoted from Bernard, Schausberger, “Die Entstehung des Mythos: Österreich als Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. Eine Dokumentation” (Diplomarbeit, Paris-Lodron-Universität, Salzburg, 1991), 6–7.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Gerechtigkeit für Österreich! Rot-Weiss-Rot-Buch. Darstellungen, Dokumente und Nachweise zur Vorgeschichte und Geschichte der Okkupation Österreichs (nach amtlichen Quellen); part 1 was published in the summer of 1946 by the Austrian State Printing House. I quote from the English translation, which was published in 1947; see Red-White-Red-Book (Vienna, 1947), 5.Google Scholar

¹⁷ Schausberger, , “Die Entstehung des Mythos,” 31.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Ibid., 78–79.

¹⁹ Peter, Malina and Gustav, Spann write accurately of “die Gemeinsamkeit des Leidens,” or “the unity of suffering”;Google Scholar see Peter, Malina and Gustav, Spann, “Der Nationalsozialmus im Österreichischen Geschichtslehrbuch,” in NS-Herrschaft in Österreich, 1938–1945, ed. Tálos, , Hanisch, , and Neugebauer, , 594.Google Scholar

²⁰ The term “coalition history” (Koalitionsgeschichtsschreibung) was coined by Karl, Stadler; see Schausberger, “Die Entstehung des Mythos,” 9.Google Scholar

²¹ In 1985, Austrian president Rudolf Kirchschläger evoked this myth in the introduction of a book to commemorate the rebirth of Austria in 1945: “Four decades have passed since our Republic of Austria reemerged from the rubble of the Greater German Reich. The fortieth return of those April days of destiny calls for reflection: reflection on the courage that blessed those men who remained loyal to our country in hard times and laid the foundation stone of the Second Republic, but also reflection on the spirit of cooperation, which alone was responsible for leading the enterprise [the rebirth of Austria] to success. We all know the result: from a country ravaged by war came a blooming togetherness, a fatherland for all Austrians”;Google Scholarsee Franz, Danimann and Hugo, Pepper, eds., Österreich im April '45 (Vienna, 1985), 9.Google ScholarManfried, Rauchensteiner argues that while imprisoned Austrian politicians from different political camps did learn the importance of working together, no set plan for future cooperation was made in the Nazi concentration camps;Google Scholarsee Manfried, Rauchensteiner, Die Zwei. Die Groβe Koalition in Österreich, 1945–1966 (Vienna, 1987), 19.Google Scholar

²² See Anton, Pelinka, “Der verdrängte Bürgerkrieg,” in Das groβe Tabu: Österreichs Umgang mil seiner Vergangenheit, ed. Anton, Pelinka and Erika, Weinzierl (Vienna, 1987), 143–53;Google ScholarMatthew, Paul Berg, “Between Kulturkampf and Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The SPÖ, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Problem of Reconciliation,” Zeitgeschichte 24, no. 5/6 (1997): 147–69;Google Scholar and Elizabeth, Klamper, “Ein einig Volk von Brüdern: Vergessen und Erinnern im Zeichen des Burgfriedens,” Zeitgeschichte 24, no. 5/6 (1997): 170–8.Google Scholar

²³ For works on the history and significance of the VdU and FPÖ, see Anton, Pelinka, “SPÖ, ÖVP, and the ‘Ehemaligen’: Isolation or Integration?”Google Scholar and Max, Riedlsperger, “FPÖ: Liberal or Nazi?” in Conquering the Past: Austrian Nazism Yesterday and Today, ed. F., Parkinson (Detroit, Mich., 1989), 245–56,257–78;Google Scholar and Max, Riedlsperger, The Lingering Shadow of Nazism: The Austrian Independent Party Movement since 1945, East European Monographs, no. 42 (Boulder, Colo., 1978).Google Scholar

²⁴ However, it should be added that outside the sphere of compromise, Austrian political parties had, and continue to have, their own views of Austria's past, which are in sharp contrast with one another. The Verein für die Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung serves as guardian of Socialist history, while the Karl von Vogelsang-Institut represents the historical views of the Austrian People's Party.Google Scholar

²⁵ Engelbrecht, , Von 1918 bis zur Gegenwart, 399.Google Scholar

²⁶ Ibid., 400–401. Also see Dieter, Stiefel, Entnazifizierung in Österreich (Vienna, 1981), esp. 161–70.Google ScholarFor a collection of articles on denazification in Austria, see Verdrängte, Schuld, verfehlte Sühne: Entnazifizierung in Österreich, 1945–1955, ed. Sebastian, Meissl, Klaus-Dieter, Mulley, and Oliver, Rathkolb (Bad Vöslau, 1986).Google Scholar

²⁷ Engelbrecht, , Von 1918 bis zur Gegenwart, 404–5.Google Scholar

²⁸ Ibid., 405, 409–10. It is interesting to note that both offerings of and enrollment in French and Russian decreased dramatically when the occupation ended in 1955; see ibid., 409.

²⁹ Ibid., 397. I use the terms “education ministry” and “education minister” throughout this paper. The exact title of the ministry and duties of the minister have changed a number of times since 1945, but education and teaching (Unterricht) have remained a constant at the ministry, which at times has simultaneously been the ministry for sports, art, and cultural affairs.Google Scholar

³⁰ Bluhm, William T., Building an Austrian Nation: The Political Integration of a Western State (New Haven, Conn., 1973), 131–32. Fischer later left the Communist Party after disappointment over the policies and actions of the Soviet Union;Google Scholar see Ernst, Fischer, Das Ende einer Illusion. Erinnerungen 1945–1955 (Vienna, 1973).Google Scholar

³¹ Hurdes made this remark in a 1966 interview; see Bluhm, , Building an Austrian Nation, 133.Google Scholar

³² Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1946, issue 1/2, 1.Google Scholar

³³ Lehrpläne für die Hauptschulen, mit einem Vorwort von Viktor Fadrus (Vienna: Verlag für Jugend und Volk, 1947), xiv-xx.Google ScholarAlso see Provisorische Lehrpläne für die Mittelschulen (Vienna, 1946).Google Scholar

³⁴ Bluhm, , Building an Austrian Nation, 134–35.Google Scholar

³⁵ Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1946, issue 3, no. 42, 69; Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1946, no. 66, 97.Google Scholar

³⁶ Bluhm, , Building an Austrian Nation, 133.Google Scholar

³⁷ Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1952, issue 10, no. 110, 215.Google Scholar

³⁸ Ibid., 1955, issue 10, no. 84, 218.

³⁹ A11 textbooks in Austria must cover required themes in the official lesson plans and must be approved by special committees working with the Education Ministry before they can be used in the schools. Because the process of approving texts and developing the national lesson plans is influenced by Proporz politics, school materials typically reflect a consensus and official view of history. It is not possible to determine to what degree political considerations play a role in the approval or rejection of history textbooks, since the files containing the comments of textbook approval committee members are not open to the public. But there is concrete evidence that the personal political positions of approval-committee members play a role in the acceptance or rejection of a work. Christian Sitte, who coauthored a geography textbook, experienced the approval process and also gathered several files on textbook approval through personal connections. Among Sitte's conclusions are that the personal and political beliefs of committee members do play a significant role in whether a book will or will not be accepted for use in an Austrian classroom;Google Scholar see Christian, Sitte, “Entwicklung des UnterrichtsgegenstandesGeographie, Erdkunde, Geographie und Wirtschaftskunde an den Allgemeinbildenden Schulen (APS u. AHS) in Österreich nach 1945” (Ph.D. diss., University of Vienna, 1989), 413–29 passim.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ Heinrich, Kotz, Junge Saat. Lesebuch für Tiroler Volksschulen, vol. 2 (Innsbruck, 1952), 365–66.Google Scholar

⁴¹ Verordnungsblatt für das Schulxvesen in Steiermark, Mar. 15, 1947, issue 1–3; and “Eine neue Bundeshymne für Österreich?;” Die Furche, Apr. 17, 1946.Google ScholarBoth are quoted from Dirk, Lyon et al. , eds., Österreich-‘bewuβt’sein—bewuβt Österreicher sein? Materialien zur Entivicklung des Österreichbewuβtseins seit 1945 (Vienna, 1985), 58–62.Google Scholar

⁴² Ibid., 60. There is no official translation of the Austrian national anthem. The translation cited is provided by the Austrian Press and Information Service.

⁴³ Kotz, , Junge Saat, 2:395–97.Google Scholar

⁴⁴ The best-known tribute to Andreas Hofer is Julius Mosen's “Andreas Hofer Lied,” which appeared in several reading books: “Dort soil er niederknien;/der sprach: ‘Das tu’ ich nit/Will sterben, wie ich steh‘,/will sterben, wie ich stritt,/so wie ich steh’ auf dieser Schanz‘;/es leb’ mein guter Kaiser Franz, mit ihm das Land Tirol!' ” (There he was supposed to kneel down;/ he said: /I want to die, as I stand,/I want to die, as I fought,/as I stand on this entrenchment;/long live my good Emperor Francis,/and with him Tyrol!”);Google ScholarHeinrich, Kotz, Junge Saat. Lesebuch für Tiroler Volksschulen, vol. 3 (Innsbruck, 1953), 619–20.Google Scholar

⁴⁵ Friedrich, Korger and Josef, Lehrl, eds., Lesebuch für Mittelschulen, vol. 3 (Vienna, 1954), 155–56.Google Scholar

⁴⁶ Friedrich, Korger and Josef, Lehrl, eds., Lesebuch für Mittelschulen, vol. 4 (Vienna, 1952), 298–303.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Albert, Eberle, Rudolf, Hansen, and Josef, Bitsche, eds., Von heut’ und ehedem. Lesebuch für die Oberstufe der Vorarlberger Volksschulen, 6. bis 8. Schulstufe (Bregenz, 1953), 494.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Ibid., 494–95.

⁴⁹ Friedrich, Demel and Wilfrieda, Lindner, Lesebuch für Handelsakademien, vol. 1 (Vienna, 1948), 17–20.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Karl, Gutkas, Die Zweite Republik Österreich, 1945–1985 (Munich, 1985), 55.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1948, issue 3, no. 14, 25–26.Google Scholar

⁵² Heimat und weite, Welt. Lesestoffe für die 7. und 8. Schulstufe der Österreichischen Volksschulen, 3rd ed. (Vienna, 1954), 215–16.Google Scholar

⁵³ Hauptschule für Knaben und Mädchen in Eisenstadt, 73. Jahresbericht, Schuljahr 1953/1954 (Eisenstadt, 1954), 2.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ Kotz, ,Junge Saat, 2:391.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ Bundesrealgymnasium in Laa an der, Thaya, XV Jahresbericht; Städtische Wirtschaftsschule in Laa an der Thaya, V. Jahresbericht, Schuljahr, 1945/1946 (Laa an der Thaya, 1946), 6–10.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ Kotz, , Junge Saat, 3:395–96.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ Heimat und weite Welt, 11.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Ibid., 210–11.

⁵⁹ The fourth grade (“4. Klasse,” or approximately seventh-grade level in the United States) was designated as the year when students would put particular emphasis on their province and Heimat.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Heinrich, Kotz, Tirolerland. Anhang zum Lesebuch “Mein Heimatland” für die vierte Schulstufe der Tiroler Volksschulen (Vienna, 1949), 3.Google ScholarThe phrase “Tirol isch lei oans” also makes reference to the partition of Tyrol after World War I. The word “lei” is actually Carinthian dialect meaning “only.” During the 1919–1920 border disputes in Carinthia, a similar phrase was used as a slogan for preserving the unity of Carinthia: “Kärnten isch lei oans.” I owe thanks to Anton Pelinka for this information.Google Scholar

⁶¹ Lehrerarbeitsgemeinschaft beim Landesschulrat Salzburg, Unser Lesebuch 4. Schulstufe. Heimat Salzburg (Salzburg, 1954), 186.Google Scholar

⁶² Eberle, , Hansen, , and Bitsche, , eds., Von heut' und ehedem, 392–93.Google Scholar

⁶³ Kotz, , Tirolerland, 141.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ R., Bamberger and J., Stöger, eds., Aus der Heimat. Lesebogen für Schule und Heim (Vienna, 1949), 6.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Viertes, Lesebuch. Ausgabe für das Bundesland Steiermark, 3rd ed. (Vienna, 1954), 101.Google Scholar

⁶⁶ Bamberger, and Stöger, , Aus der Heimat, 13–14.Google ScholarAnton, Wildgans was a patriotic Austrian writer from the time of the empire and First Republic. He passed away in 1932.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ Heinrich, Kotz, Junge Saat. Lesebuch für Tiroler Volksschulen, vol. 1 (Innsbruck, 1952), 223–24.Google Scholar

⁶⁸ Korger, and Lehrl, , eds., Lesebuch für Mittelschulen, 3:5–13.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ Steirische, Heimat. Anhang zum Lesebuch “Mein Heimatland” für die vierte Schulstufe der steirischen Volksschulen, 2nd ed. (Vienna, 1951), 64.Google Scholar

⁷⁰ The Übergossene Aim is the name of the glacier; it evokes the image of a glacier pouring out over the meadow; Die Valtbauermkinder. Anhang zum Lesebuch “Mein Heimatland” für die vierte Schulstufe der Salzburger Volksschulen (Vienna, 1947), 3–5.Google Scholar

⁷¹ Alm imagery remains common in Austria. Many Austrian television commercials make use of the Aim in either a pious or a comic way. There is also a popular Austrian soft drink called “Almdudler.”Google Scholar

⁷² The Kranzkuh is the bewreathed cow; Kotz, Junge Saat, 2:113.Google Scholar

⁷³ For a postwar book promoting Austria and Austrian tourism, see Ernst, Marboe, The Book of Austria, trans. Gedye, G. E. R. (Vienna, 1948).Google Scholar

⁷⁴ Karl, Melchard, “Fremdenverkehrsaufklärung der österreichischen Schuljugend verbunden mit einem Preisausschreiben,” Beilage zum Verordnungsblatt für den Dienstbereich des Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, 1950, 5, 4, 7–8.Google Scholar

⁷⁵ Ibid.; the unnumbered pages of photographs are between pages 4 and 5.

⁷⁶ Kotz, , Junge Saat, 3:397.Google Scholar

⁷⁷ The year 1946 was the 950th anniversary of the birth of Austria, or at least, the 950th anniversary of the time the word (Ostarrîchi) was written down for the first time. At a 1946 celebration to commemorate the Ostarrichi anniversary, President Renner called attention to Austria's long existence, saying: “Now it lives again! A new beginning has been made, as by the settlers of Ostarrîchi a thousand years ago!”;Google Scholarsee Walter, Pohl, “Ostarrîchi Revisited: The 1946 Anniversary, the Millennium, and the Medieval Roots of Austrian Identity,” in Austrian History Yearbook 27 (1996): 24.Google Scholar

⁷⁸ Franz, Heilsberg and Friedrich, Korger, Allgemeine Geschichte der Neuzeit von der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts bis zur Gegenwart (Vienna, 1953), 149, 157.Google Scholar

⁷⁹ Provisorische Lehrpläne für die Mittelschulen, 85–86.Google Scholar

⁸⁰ Robert, Endres, Österreichische Staatsbürgerkunde, 6th ed. (Vienna, 1950), 41–42.Google Scholar

⁸¹ Another Staatsbürgerkunde textbook from 1954 briefly covered the Anschluss as a violation of international law and mentioned nothing else about the war;Google Scholarsee Walter, Jähnl and Franz, Stidl, Das österreichische Gewerbebuch, vol. 1, pt. 7, Staatsbürgerkunde, 3rd ed. (Vienna, 1954), 32.Google Scholar

⁸² Eberle, , Hansen, , AND Bitsche, , Von heut' und ehedem, 354–57.Google Scholar

⁸³ Ibid., 359–62.

⁸⁴ Ibid., 357–58.

⁸⁵ Viertes, Lesebuch. Ausgabe für das Bundesland Kärnten (Vienna, 1954), 177–78.Google Scholar

⁸⁶ The ordeals of prisoners of war (POWs) and expellees were important aspects of the mythology of victimization in Germany as well;Google Scholarsee Moeller, Robert G, “War Stories: The Search for a Usable Past in the Federal Republic of Germany,” American Historical Review 101, no. 4 (10. 1996): 1008–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁸⁷ Kotz, , Junge Saat, 3:620–21. Note the double meaning of the title of the poem “Vermiβt,” which can mean both “missing in action” and “to be missed.”Google Scholar

⁸⁸ Viertes, Lesebuch. Ausgabe für das Bundesland Steiermark, 143–44.Google Scholar

⁸⁹ Lehrerarbeitsgemeinschaft beim Landesschulrat Salzburg, Unser Lesebuch 4. Schulstufe. Heimat Salzburg, 331–33.Google Scholar

⁹⁰ Viertes, Lesebuch. Ausgabe für das Bundesland Kärnten, 147–48.Google Scholar